Israel Defense Forces chief General Herzi Halevi said operations were expanding in southern and central Gaza, while in the northern part of the Gaza Strip they were close to disbanding Hamas battalions. But, he warned, the war would last “many more months.”
“I just left the Gaza Strip,” he said again at a press conference in southern Israel, “I met the troops in the north of the strip.” I was impressed by the way our forces fight, work and the achieve the goals we set for ourselves. The IDF is close to completing the disbandment of Hamas battalions in northern Gaza.” “We have eliminated many terrorists and commanders, some of them have surrendered to our forces, and we have taken hundreds of prisoners,” he added. “We destroyed a lot of underground infrastructure and weapons.” But he argued: “In this densely populated urban area where the terrorists are dressed like civilians, you cannot say that we killed them all.”